National Institute for Strategic Studies Director: Independence of Church is one of national security issues

The issue of the independent Church is one of the key issues of humanitarian security and -- even more -- of national security. Director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies Rostyslav Pavlenko expressed this opinion in an interview with Ukrinform.

“From the very first days of his tenure, President Poroshenko paid special attention to this issue because the issue of the independent Church is one of the key issues of humanitarian security, and even more so of national security as such, because these are things that have a very serious impact on the worldview of the people, on their attitudes ... Unfortunately, the Russian Federation is very actively using the Church factor and we have to seek protection. So serious efforts have been made to seek recognition (for unrecognized Orthodox Church jurisdictions - Ed.) at the highest level – It was necessary to explain the situation in the country, to dispel the myths imposed by Russian propaganda, to present the facts of our religious life, indicating the role of the Russian side,” Pavlenko said.

He said that Poroshenko had met with the Romanian Patriarch in his cadence in 2016, met several times with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the Serbian Patriarchate. On behalf of the President, Pavlenko visited the Phanar, where the residence of the Ecumenical Patriarch is located, at least ten times.

“This is the work that has been going on for years – and, as they say in Phanar,” the process has reached maturity. “I think that we have contributed to the understanding by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the present situation both in Ukraine and in the Ukrainian-Russian relations, in particular against the backdrop of events in the world Orthodoxy,” Pavlenko said.

On January 17, 2018, President Petro Poroshenko stated that he had prepared an appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch asking him to provide the Tomos of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

The next day, tour Head of State officially received from the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church an appeal to be submitted to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with the signatures of all the bishops who supported this decision.

On April 19, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution to support the President's appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch about the establishment of the One Local Ukrainian Orthodox Church.